I am a geek. We ALL know this by now. I often watch Ninja Warrior with the wife, and this is no exception today. So, as i watch the most INSANE show around, I also think of all the coming BBQs happening soon due to the coming holiday. Yes, I know, Rosh Hashanah… But I was more talking about memorial day weekend for us US folks. And, as always, people need a side dish. So, after some experimenting, I came up with a nummilicious dairy side that would make ANY BBQ happy! Ladies and gentlemen, let us begin…

So, yes. Anther fine side dish JUST in time for BBQs. And with any such holiday coming up, PLEASE do not drink and drive! My cop father and future cop sister thank you in advance. Until next time, Shalom and Good Cooking!

Ah, ramen… Ramen is something I have a fondness for. I often will frequent a little Japanese place here in Chula Vista as a guilty pleasure. But, unlike most places that sell ramen, they are nice enough to have a miso broth rather than a pork-based broth other places often have. So, munching the nummy ramen with my wife, I pondered if I could make a kosher bowl of ramen. Stroking my chin, I then began to smile widely. Why, of course I could! And i could make it a fusion of Japanese and Jewish cultures, to boot!

Now, before I begin, let me explain the differences between ramen in japan, and the pale imitation ANY poor person in North America knows intimately. Ramen, true ramen, is a meal in and of itself. It’s thick, filling, and yet rests easy on the stomach. All in all, it is a wonderful dish I really want to share with you all. Now, unlike my LASY ramen article, this one is a little more complicated.

First off, we need some ingredients. As always, I work to find kosher ingredients. First, we need miso. I suggest Natural Foods’ Miso for this. It is the REAL stuff, and Kosher to boot. Now, red or white is up to your personal taste, so I suggest getting both to see which you prefer. Personally, I’m a white miso man, myself. Now, as for kosher ramen, of course any good kosher grocery store is going to carry it. They are easy enough to find that you should have no worries. Everything else should be easy enough to find in your standard grocery store’s Asian section and Kosher section.

Bring the broth (Or stock) to a simmer in a large pot with a lid, then slowly add in the tofu while stirring. As it dissolves, the tofu is going to give up a thickening reaction that is going to help make this VERY filling.

Once the tofu has dissolved into the broth/stock, add in all the remaining ingredients EXCEPT the ramen, sesame seeds, and green onions (If you used broth, be GENTLE with the soy sauce. That stuff is salty already!!!). Cover and let the whole broth simmer over low heat for about an hour, stirring every 15 minutes or so just to stir everything up.

About 5-10 minutes before the hour is up, open up the ramen packages. See those foil packages? Throw them away. It’d be an insult to this dish to use them. Pop the noodles into the pot and cover for the remaining time. This not only cooks our noodles, but also infuses the nummy taste of our miso base into the noodles. This is a GOOD thing!

To serve, get out 4 BIG bowls. Scoop out the noodles, and divide them between the four bowls. Then divide the miso base between the 4 bowls. Finally, garnish with the sesame seeds and green onions. At this point, if you wish, you could add some fish cake.

Now, I know… Kosher fish cake!? Are you MAD!? Well, to be honest, Japanese fish cake is made in a VERY similar way to gefilte fish. The only differences being the fish used, and that it’s dyed to be purty. Yes, purists will scream, but I’ve found that some slices off a gefilte fish ‘log’ around the bowl is wonderful. And if you miss that redish-pink color, top each slice with some beet-infused horseradish! Viola! There’s your red, and the hurseradish will go nicely with the asian flavours. Trust me, I do it a lot.

Now then, I hope this recipe goes over well. Of course, you can customize it. Customize like MAD! Toppings are only limited by your imagination, really. boiled egg sliices, thin slices of beef, and even meat-free all taste wonderful with this mix. All in all, its YOUR choices as its YOUR ramen, after all! Anyhow, until next time, Shalom and Good Cooking!

I love salmon. Especially Pacific NW Salmon. But, when you cook such a large salmon, you often have leftovers. Now, what do we do with this, that is the query! Well, I came up with this simple casserole recipe that does quite well for itself!

From the West Coast to the east, a cry comes out across the internet. People scream to the heavens as, once again, Our favorite renegade foodie returns to the net. Real life had lots of trials to deal with, but I am back, rested, and ready to keep giving you the best renegade kosher recipes I can. as an added bonus, I’m also going to start doing some video blogging, as well, so you can see me cooking some of these nifty recipes! This time, I was inspired. Ah, yes, I was inspired during my sabbatical… You see, I have friends who are fans of the Gor novels. One of the recipes in these books is for Sa-Tarna Bread. Pondering its taste and texture as described in the books, I made this recipe… Enjoy!

Combine the dough with the remaining ingredients (Except for the egg wash), & knead it until very smooth and elastic. The dough has to be slightly wet (but not sticky), but don’t attempt to add much extra flour! Just a little at a time, as needed. Add more milk if the dough’s too dry in small amounts.

In this stage, take it slow! So rest the dough in fridge overnight in a covered bowl. In the morning take it out, and let it return back to room temperature before proceed the final proofing.

Knead the dough briefly, and shape it to your desired shapes or in loaf pans.

Cover with lightly moist towels, & proof it for an hour in 75F room temperature or until the volume has doubled. After proofing, cut a slice down the center of each loaf pan to help in the baking.

Preheat the oven 375F, and when warmed, bake the bread for 10 minutes in 375F oven. Then, lower the oven to 350F until it’s done (About 15 minutes).

If you want to do the egg wash, once the loaves are out of the oven, combine 1 vulo egg yolk with 2 Tablespoons Lemon juice. Combine until mixed fully, then brush over the loaves.

Yeah, I wrote the recipe in Gor terms, just to make those I created it for happier. Yeah, I am a geek. Anyhow, yeah! I’m back! Until next time, Shalom and Good Cooking!